Greg Hands criticises Labour’s proposed Inheritance Tax Hike

Unlike the Conservatives, who in 2015 decided that married couples, and those in civil partnerships, should be able to combine their inheritance tax-free allowances up to as much as £1 million, by 2021, when passing on their family home, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party could reduce this amount to £425,000, if they are elected on 8 June.

Under Labour, thousands of family homes in London would become liable for inheritance tax. Corbyn’s Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, has confirmed on BBC radio that he wants to scrap the Conservatives’ reduction of the inheritance tax threshold, halving the current maximum tax-free allowance for couples from £850k to £425k.

Commenting on Labour’s proposals, local Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, Greg Hands, said: “Corbyn and McDonnell’s threat to reduce the inheritance tax threshold would be disastrous for Londoners, but even more so for local residents in Chelsea & Fulham.

“I can fully understand the wishes of people who have worked hard their entire lives to pass something on to their children, and it seems that the Labour Party’s nonsensical obsession with taxing homeowners is totally out of touch with the reality of living in London.

“What Labour is condemning as giveaways, I call the right to pass on your family home. It would be even worse for many local home owners, if Labour revives its so-called Mansion Tax – an annual tax on properties worth more than £2m.”

The Labour Party’s tax on the average property in Fulham would be £251,161.20, and on the average property in Chelsea it would be £455,987.60.